The Final Judgment: Part 1

    After our resurrection, there comes a time when we will stand before God for our final judgment.  Throughout our existence we face many judgments.  Some of these are spiritual judgments about our worthiness before God, while others are judgments concerning our standing with other human beings. 

     Judgments concerning other human beings are a necessity of life since they determine our safety and the safety of those we are responsible for.  These judgments can have eternal consequences (others not so much), and should always be done with an eye single to the glory of God.  In other words, we need the help of God in order to judge righteously and not come under the condemnation spoken of throughout the scriptures for unrighteous judgment. 

     Our choice in friends is a form of this judgment.  Our influence on the friends of our children involves this sort of judgment.  Choosing an accountant, a lawyer, a doctor, and other professionals involves this sort of judgment.  Our choice concerning marriage also involves this kind of judgment, though it in particular has an incredibly large impact on eternal salvation. 

     Spiritual judgments are also incredibly important, since they help determine our standing before God.  A wise person will find himself or herself constantly evaluating his or her own standing before God in a form of self-spiritual judgment.  This will help that individual constantly draw closer to God and become a better person.  In addition we face spiritual judgments through the appointed servants of God as well as directly from Him. 

     In the Premortal Existence, the spirits organized by Elohim the Father faced an initial judgment for choosing to follow Lucifer the deceiver or Jehovah the Redeemer.  Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints submit to spiritual judgment at the hands of our bishops who are called by revelation to administer unto the children of God in ward units.  These bishops are responsible for judging whether members are worthy to enter the presence of God in His holy temples, or if the members need to repent and realign themselves with the will of God before doing so.  They must have the spirit of revelation to successfully perform this duty.  We also face spiritual judgments when entering the spirit world after death and when it’s time for our resurrection.   

     Ultimately, however, the most important judgment we face takes place after our resurrection and is known as the Final Judgment.  Up until this time we are still able to repent of our mistakes and realign ourselves to the will of God.  Some circumstances leave it more difficult than others, but it is still possible.  Through repentance we can change the outcome of the Final Judgment.  But the Final Judgment is just that, the Final Judgment.  It is the last in the judgments we face and will determine our state in the Kingdom of Heaven.  For this reason it is important to understand what this judgment entails.

     So who will be judged?  In The Book of Mormon:  Another Testament of Jesus Christ, we learn that all of us will be brought to stand before God for judgment.  Alma chapter 11, verse 44, reads, “Now this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous…and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.”  So everybody, no matter their state, status, or condition, will stand before the judgment bar of Christ.

     Who will do the judging?  Turning to John 5:21-22, we learn, “For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.  For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son…”  This is important to understand.  Elohim the Father has the authority to judge us, for He is the Supreme Being who created our souls.  His Son, Jehovah, sacrificed everything for us.  And through His sacrifice we have access to all things under God if we choose to become like God.  Because of this Elohim the Father has committed the authority to judge to Jehovah the Son.  So Jehovah has the authority to judge under the authority of Elohim the Father.

     Jehovah then delegates these keys of judgment to others, as we learn in the scriptures.  In Matthew 19:28, Jesus Christ proclaims to His faithful disciples that they shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel.  This is reaffirmed in Luke 22:30 and in The Book of Mormon:  Another Testament of Jesus Christ (1 Nephi 12:9-10; Mormon 3:18-19).  These Book of Mormon verses also teach that those who have access to the words of The Book of Mormon shall also be judged by the twelve ministers called by Jesus in Ancient America (3 Nephi 12).  And modern revelation through prophets of our time has taught that authority will be given to twelve apostles of our time to judge the people of the last days (prophecy given through President John Taylor, third prophet called of God after the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in 1830).  So, we will be judged by the apostles of Jesus Christ who are given that authority by Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

     There is a lot more to discuss with regards to the Final Judgment.  But again it will require a separate entry to prevent too lengthy of an entry.  So, in my next entry, I will continue with the focus on the Final Judgment.  Until then remember that all of us will be brought to stand before the judgment bar of God, where we will be judged by the apostles of Jesus Christ.  These apostles are given this authority by Jesus Christ.  Jesus, who is Jehovah, is given it by Elohim the Father because He is the Son of God and has earned that right through His own faith and obedience.